Fire of the past
by chloemcg
Summary: One-shot. Apollo is back in Japanifornia to have a week holiday and, after going through a gruelling trial, both he and Phoenix venture on their way back to the Wright anything agency. But what happens when Apollo shows one of his darkest fears and Phoenix has to comfort his former understudy when he is feeling so vulnerable?


**Disclaimer: I don't own anyone from the Phoenix Wright, ace attorney franchise. The characters and everything else belongs to Capcom and no one else! ESPECIALLY NOT ME!**

 **Fire of the past**

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The evening was just giving way for dusk to arrive as the sun set in Japanifornia, America.

The skies were a beautiful blend of peachy orange, reddish pink, and a radiant shade of violet whilst poofy pink clouds were fading into nothingness -the orange/yellow sun was sinking behind several tall buildings and skyscrapers that towered up high and cast a dark orange light over the city that was starting to also dissipate.

Famous defence attorney, Phoenix Wright, was just walking back to the Wright anything agency from a long yet exhausting day in Court along with his young yet very loud former understudy, Apollo Justice; the two lawyers were absolutely exhausted from yelling and presenting evidence all day during one of the most trying and mentally-straining cases they ever took on and they were so tired that they were practically lumbering their way home with stacks of files tucked beneath each of their arms. Apollo had just arrived for a bit of a getaway from the kingdom of Khura'in and decided to spend some quality time with one of the two father figures he ever had, yet he never expected to take on such a gruelling case.

He was glad to get a break from doing all that paperwork in order to change the laws and mend the legal system that had been twisted and abused during the rule of tyrannical dictator, Queen Ga'ran.

Phoenix glanced to Apollo, a weak smile pulling at the corners of his lips -he had a pair of dark circles spread around his tired yet baggy eyes and his voice was a slight rasp. "Never thought I'd see the day where a case makes me wanna head straight for my bed..."

Apollo had to agree with his former boss as he sent him a tired sideways grin, "I hear you...that case took a lot out of me, I can't wait to lie down on the sofa and just relax for awhile."

Phoenix raised a wiry brow, recalling the two other people who worked at the agency -one of them being his precious adopted daughter. He couldn't help but let a hearty chuckle fly from his lips as he rolled his eyes at the 23-year-old lumbering alongside him.

"Sadly I don't think Trucy or Athena would allow that from you."

It was true. Since he'd come back, Trucy and Athena made him do quite a few activities (most of said activities were very dangerous too) in order to make up for lost time. Apollo was almost certain that by the time the end of the week was over when he had to go back to the kingdom of Khur'ain he would have been set on fire, used for literal target practice when Trucy wished to practice with her throwing knives, and much more torture than anyone could imagine; but hey, if it meant that he'd get back in the girls good books then he'd be willing to take it all...even if it did cause him a great deal of pain in the end...

A dry, humourless laugh tinted with a hint of dread rumbled from the red clad attorney's famous throat.

"Heh...ya got me there, Mr. Wright..."

They both continued on their way, hoping to get back to the office quickly so they could recuperate.

However that was when an ominous glow in the distance caught their eye and the two froze when the sounds of blaring sirens caught their ears, eyes widening in their sockets. At first they thought that it could be someone who got hurt and needed and ambulance but, upon listening more closely to the blaring, they realised that it was a fire engine. The two men had to wonder and ask themselves what could be going on? Could something be wrong with one of their neighbours or something? Neither the spiky-fringed attorney nor the sleeked-back, spiky-haired attorney could contain their curiosity as they hastened in their footsteps in order to hurry to the scene of the odd goings on.

In spite of their aching limbs, they each broke into a gentle sprint as they both turned the sharp street corner and uncovered what was happening and what they found was shocking.

A small office building that was almost right next to the Wright anything agency was on fire!

Phoenix, stunned beyond belief, looked at the horrifying scene unfolding before him: Four fire engines were parked right outside and were being joined by a fifth, most of them were busy trying to either control or completely put out the crazy big flames which were so hot that Phoenix and Apollo could feel the blazing heat on their skins even from a safe distance and the air was thick with smoke that was so intense that it was hard for both of the lawyers to breathe.

A group of six firemen were crowded around a trio of people whom were absolutely covered in soot, they were coughing and spluttering weakly as they appeared as though they only just got out of there. Two firemen appeared as though they were keeping an eye on the group of coughing individuals and the other four were running around like headless chickens as they rushed about grabbing buckets of water and chucking it on to the more smaller flames in hopes of dousing them.

Phoenix couldn't control himself as he ran over and asked the people recently brought out of the fire, worry lacing his tone, "Goodness gracious! What happened!?"

One of the soot covered individuals, a young woman, probably a year or two older than Athena, coughed weakly as she looked weakly up at the tall man with sleek spiky black hair and spoke through a raw and rather acrid voice.

"W-We were just discussing my e-engagement p-p-party," she flashed an engagement ring at him for emphasis, "when all of a sudden we smelt smoke in the air. A-At first we thought someone was burning some cooking downstairs before...until the flames got serious. We became trapped for what felt like minutes until we were rescued and thankfully we got out before we got hurt...b-b-but..."

The poor young lady couldn't finish as she trailed off. She was looking pale and was starting to look on the verge of throwing up and Phoenix couldn't help but feel compelled to loop an arm around her shoulders and hold her in for a gentle sideways hug in order to give her some comfort.

The lawyer in blue felt absolutely terrible that this happened to them, he hadn't known these people for too long but they ran a small office business and they seemed extremely friendly. He knew that they didn't deserve such hardships. He then glanced sympathetically at the others whom looked broken by their new business being burnt into a crisp right before their eyes, and he couldn't blame them. He felt the same when he'd lost his attorneys badge...he felt lost and he didn't know what he could do or how to move on with his life after that but at least he had Trucy to pull him through it, his heart ached for their situation and he wished he could do something other than try and help them emotionally.

But, alas, he was a lawyer, not a miracle-worker.

He could only stay with the small group for another minute or so (he wasn't keeping track of time) before the fire fighter crew were done and had to escort them off site...two of the firemen had appeared suddenly by Phoenix's side, with looks of sympathy etched on their faces, and proceeded to herd the small group of traumatised neighbours towards the ambulance that had parked a little ways from the site where some paramedics waited for them so they could carry out some checks on them and take them to the hospital.

All Phoenix could do was call out to the group, "Good luck, guys..."

Then he was left to ponder over all that had happened. If the fire could be kept under control then hopefully it shouldn't affect the agency much yet he knew that he had to help his neighbours since they were more than likely having no option but to move out of the area and trying to find somewhere else to have their office.

He sincerely hoped that they could recover from this and get back on their feet...

But then Phoenix noticed and came to realise something:

Apollo hadn't been seen much throughout this whole thing.

Curious, the lawyer turned around and he couldn't help but notice something about the young man.

Apollo was looking quite abnormally squirrelled and unnerved. He just looked at the flaming building, his eyes were wide and his breathing was erratic as this fear clung to him in a death grip. He knew that this was more than a normal fearful reaction to fire then he normally had and he knew since he was young that this fear was born from something deep and subconscious and he knew exactly what sort of trauma could bring such terror of fire. The red clad lawyer's head started to burn like the wild flames in front of him and his heart started to pound like crazy in his chest, he started to tremble uncontrollably.

Phoenix started to become alarmed.

"Apollo...?!"

Apollo didn't say anything but he just dropped to his knees with his eyes never leaving the house engulfed by flames, his gaze was totally transfixed upon the crackling violent flames and billowing smoke that spewed out the windows.

Phoenix dropped down to his own two knees so he could meet the young man at eye level. He noticed the boy's shaking and his face instantly came etched with concern, worry and confusion. He reached over and grabbed Apollo's shoulder with one hand when he noticed his former protégés posture was so still and stiff yet his breathing was worryingly erratic.

The spiky-haired attorney in blue pondered on this.

Why would Apollo suddenly turn from his normal emotional state into such an anxious wreck?

It wasn't like Apollo was involved in any sort of trauma that could bring this sort of reaction...

The attorney's eyes widened in realisation when he remembered that he he had, though. When Apollo was a baby he was involved in a big fire that helped kill his biological father in the process. Even though he had been far too young to remember it, that memory must have been burned into his subconscious thus giving him major anxiety around fires and it even doubled when burning buildings were involved.

Apollo was probably having a panic attack!

Phoenix reached over to grab Apollo's tense shoulder before he started to gently shake him back and forth to try and stir him out of his wakeful conscious state. "Apollo! C'mon, Apollo, snap out of it!"

But the only response he got from the spiky-fringed lawyer in red was slap to his hand, something which made Phoenix take his hand back due to both shock and the pain he'd inflicted, as well as a blank, wide-eyed stare. Apollo started to make gagging sounds as he clawed at his tight throat and he continued to breathe intensely as though he were panicking. He couldn't control himself anymore and he was very scared about whatever was going on with him; he'd always been uneasy about fire since he was little but he'd never reacted this badly before.

He wanted to communicate to his boss that he was truly struggling but, whenever he tried to open his mouth and speak, all that he'd be able to get through his tight throat was a high-pitched squeak of a sound.

Phoenix closed his eyes and sighed in an attempt to calm himself since he figured out that he needed to soften his approach. He'd dealt with panic attacks before, whenever Trucy would go through similar episodes during (and sometimes after) she'd have horrific nightmares about being abandoned by him —she would wake up in the middle of the night sometimes screaming and kicking and thrashing around so violently that she'd sometimes tumble right out of bed, then it would be up to Phoenix to hold his teenaged daughter until she could go back to sleep.

It might not work with Apollo since he's much older then Trucy but, considering that they are half-siblings, he figured that it could work to tone things down...

The lawyer in blue waited for a minute for the stinging in his hand to dull before he reached forward a second time and lay his hand on Apollo's shoulder and he was glad that he didn't smack his hand away this time, and then he put on the most compassionate look he could and then started to lower his voice into a comforting whisper.

"Apollo, it's okay, it's okay, you're fine...nothing's going to hurt you, I'm here..."

Apollo seemed to relax slightly when he heard Phoenix's voice

Phoenix held the young man tight, he patted his shoulder soothingly as he tried to calm the young man down. The attorney in blue could feel Apollo's sweat seep through the material of his own blue suit and that indicated how much the young man was affected.

Apollo's complexion was as pale as a sheet and his breathing was hysterical as he still made gagging sounds to try and regain control of himself whilst he felt his throat closing up and his vision started darkening. He didn't know what was happening and he didn't like it, he felt like his head was full of cotton and he was barely aware of his surroundings and he swore that he could feel this faint ringing in his ears as a sudden white flash blinded him and he started to cling tight to his idol as he started to make choked whimpering sounds that were very heartbreaking to hear.

He was afraid, he didn't understand what was happening.

Apollo looked around frantically as he appeared to search his surroundings for something —or someone— as the movements caused his thorns of hair to wither and sway with each jerk his head made, his unfocused eyes zipped about and his whole body started to tremble violently.

"Mr. Wright...! D-D-Daddy...! Fire, no...! Where's my...!"

Phoenix reached his other arm out, capturing the red clad attorney by his shoulders to steady him and he comforted in a hushed but comfortingly firm tone of voice. His eyes were ablaze with stern authority but were twinkling with such compassion, so much so that should anybody look into his deep blue pools then they'd be hypnotised by how calming they appeared.

"Shhh...take deep breaths, kid, I'm right here with you!"

Apollo whimpered softly as he felt Phoenix wrap his arms around him, holding the young man close to him as he tried to calm the young man down. He could feel Apollo melt in his arms as he seemed to calm down and bury his face into his strong chest. The spiky-haired lawyer sworn that he never would tell anyone but he kind of viewed Apollo as the son he'd never have and he wanted nothing more than to protect him, especially after he'd led such a hard life.

He lost his biological parents when he was just a baby, then he grew up in a country ruled by this madwoman (whom had also been responsible for the fact that his father perished), he was sent to America when he was still a boy, he had spent a majority of the time all alone as an orphan with his heart broken due a promise that was just as broken until he'd met a boy named Clay, then he'd been taken up by his mentor who had been discovered to be a murderous criminal at his first trial, and he felt seriously betrayed when he discovered that his idol (Phoenix Wright himself) had become a washed up hobo thanks to the loss of his badge, then Clay perished a year later, and the year after that Apollo was forced to fight his adopted brother in court and he also discovered that his adopted father had perished as well as uncover the truth behind his biological father's death on top of it all.

Both attorneys-at-law worked together numerous times but Phoenix couldn't have been more proud of how far Apollo had come and the former held Apollo tight and neither of them paid no heed to the fact that a large majority of the flames had been put out already, the lawyer in red shut his eyes tight, floods of tears trailing down his face as his breathing finally started to slow and the burning pain in his head had finally started to subside.

"M-Mr Wright...please...don't let the fire get me..." He whimpered softly.

Phoenix patted Polly's shoulder in a fatherly yet reassuring manner, crooning beneath his breath.

"I won't. You're safe with me~"

Neither of them knew how long they stayed in that embrace.

Time had slowed to a snails crawl for them and it was by the time before they even realised it that night had fallen across the city -stars had dotted the dark indigo blue skies and the moon shone brightly in the sky. The remnants of fire such as smoke clung stubbornly to the air and drowned their sinuses in the toxic scent.

Phoenix, blinking away the exhaustion that blurred his eyesight, had finally found the energy to peel Apollo away from his chest and watched as he recomposed himself; Apollo blinked some remaining tears out from his special brown eyes and used his forearm to rub at his eyes that stung from how hard he cried, and then he looked down at his arm and gripped his signature bracelet.

Apollo breathed in deeply to calm himself and, even though he was still shaking slightly, he looked at his boss with a rather tired yet haunted look in his fatigue-filled eyes.

A small smile curled at his lips.

"Sorry about that, Mr. Wright," He sniffled, sucking back more tears, and he flashed a tiny smirk. "I'm fine now..."

Phoenix didn't say anything but he smiled. He was glad to see that Apollo had finally cried out all that pain, although he could feel his legs ache from kneeling for such a prolonged period of time and his hamstrings burned as he climbed to his feet gingerly. He fought the urge to rub the soreness out of his kneecaps as he straightened his posture out, he bent down regardless and offered out his hand for the younger attorney to take.

Apollo hardly wasted a second and took it as Phoenix helped him stand, although he was slightly unsteady due to how much he was trembling. He almost fell forwards when he felt Mr. Wright's hand firmly slap the back of his shoulder supportively and the younger attorney, although still shaking like a chihuahua, blinked tiredly at the older man.

"Can we just go back to the office...?"

Phoenix nodded with slight concern still showing on his face and the two lawyers started to continue their original trek back to the agency, once again taking in the silence that surrounded them. Neither of them knew what to say to each other as they slowly strode back to the building that was sort of a home to them and then, out of nowhere, Apollo tilted his head down at his feet as he cast the most sincerest and genuinely grateful look he could.

"Thanks for being there for me, Mr. Wright..."

The concern melted away on Phoenix's face as he knew then that Apollo was going to be just fine as he simply reached over and tousled Apollo's hair, ruffling his two horn-shaped bangs and messing them up, earning an irritated look from his former understudy.

His tone couldn't be more kind, though.

"You're welcome, Apollo..."

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 **A/N: Heres the end of this one-shot between fatherly Phoenix and Apollo.**

 **I thought that maybe Apollo might be afraid of burning buildings since he been through a childhood traumatic experience (as shown in AA 6) and I wondered if maybe he could only show this vulnerable side of him whenever he sees a building on fire and Phoenix has to comfort him. This was how this fic was born and I hope you guys enjoy it.**

 **-Chloemcg**


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